Casey's Promise
by Timeless1
Summary: Involving mostly Gusto, Gruffi, Calla, and a new bear I made up named Cassandra, my story explores issues of trust, art, sorcery, power, and a few other things. I don't know if I'll finish it or not, but I enjoyed writing what I do have.
1. A Novel Subject

Casey's Promise 

My tale's slightly dark, a little weird and mysterious...but it is safe for all ages, so there's no need to be concerned.

A weird but hopefully interesting tale...It involves mostly Gusto and Gruffi and Cassandra, a new gummi bear of my own making (don't worry, she doesn't overshadow too much the original and best characters [Gusto and Gruffi, in my opinion] of the series), and later on Calla and Sunni have a very special cavalry come to their aid (Calla and Sunni end up saving some people, not the other way around). Art, sorcery, and our most beloved dreams are explored in this story, which I hope you'll enjoy. (This is my first G.B. fanfic, and is so far only about four short chapters long. The fourth chapter is really a rough draft and therefore is not up yet. The story is unfinished as of yet, so more chapters will be forthcoming...slowly, as I think of things to add to the story and edit it--these things inevitably take time if they're to be of any quality. At least, I hope I'm giving out a quality piece of writing. ^ ^)

At night, outside of Gummi Glen on a well-hidden hillside, Zummi was looking at the stars for his star charts through his telescope, while Sunni looked on in wonder (Cubbi was asleep at home.). Gusto was painting the starry sky and dark countryside--a romantic scene; by candlelight the colors were dimmer and softer for the painting and the painted stars seemed all the more luminous. Sunni asked Zummi what he thought the stars really were. Before he had a chance to answer, someone from the shadows interrupted him.

"They are all the bears who have gone on before." It was a lady bear's voice. Zummi said, "Why, that was what I was about to say...at least that's true according to some ancient Gummi legends. Later our scientists and the Great Book revealed that the stars are faraway fireballs. But who are you?" The stranger stepped out from the darkness of the surrounding trees and underbrush and into the dim moonlight.

"My name," she said in a smooth voice," is Cassandra." She was a glen-type gummi bear, slightly plump and wearing a long maroon dress with long puffy sleeves. She had lilac-colored fur and gazed upon the astonished group with violet eyes flecked with bright green. Cassandra had too much make-up on and some golden jewelry--rings, bangles, and earrings. She wore beautiful maroon silk slippers and had some of her wavy strawberry blonde hair spilling out wildly from the round jeweled cap she wore, which matched her dress and shoes. Around her waist she had tied a braided, golden cord, to which was attatched a small black silk pouch filled with something. 

"Wow!" exclaimed Sunni.

"You're beautiful-I have got to paint you. Stand over there by that clump of flowers!" Gusto in his usual overly friendly manner greeted her. She proudly and obediently walked over to the flowers as if she had known Augustus for years, while Zummi introduced himself, Gusto, and Sunni.

Zummi questioned, "Where are you from? You're free to stay with us here in Gummi Glen if you wish." Gusto vigorously mixed the new colors on his palette to match precisely his new subject's tones. "I'm sorry, but I really can't seem to remember where I'm from; just who I am. But, I would be glad to stay...thanks."

Sunni listened with concern and thought perhaps she had been abandoned or shipwrecked (although Cassandra's clothes certainly didn't look like they were tattered) or had injured her head to be so amnesiatic. Sunni was about to ask Cassandra if something had happened to her when Zummi told her to come with him to the Glen. "We need to ask Grammi to prepare our new friend's room and an extra seat at the dining table."

"But what about Gusto?" 

"Don't worry, Sunni. He'll be alright. Remember he was alone on that island for twelve years and he lives by himself now behind his waterfall. He'll be fine." Gusto, so engulfed by his art, didn't even notice them as they left.

As soon as he finished painting, which didn't take long, Gusto showed his masterpiece to Cassandra. "It's glorious," she praised,"...but I need to show you a subject even better to immortalize."

The young artist suddenly felt awed by her adulation and was determined to follow her to this place of which she spoke. "Are you too tired to do another painting?" she asked gently. "No, no. I could paint forever with the inspiration you've given me. Where are we going?" 

Without realizing it, he had already started to follow her into the dark woods without his painting materials. "You'll see." Almost in a trance, he silently walked with her, each step becoming more and more dreamlike. They finally came to a rocky ledge with the English Channel buffeting the clefts far below them. The full moon's hauntingly beautiful light illumined the ledge, silhouetting the two figures. 

"Augustus, you painted all this! This is your work."

"It's...it's magnificent...I never knew I could paint something to look this real."

By now, Gusto was completely in a trance, simply believing everything she said.

"You can become a part of your masterpiece and live forever, if only you'll try."

"But how...?"

"You must become part of your painting...this painting, now, by jumping into it."

"Oh thank-you..."

She stood well behind him, looking on in satisfaction at her fatal sorcery.

He was about to take that final leap, when Zummi, Gruffi, Grammi, and Sunni worriedly came up the ledge. "Gusto! Cassandra! What's going on here? Why didn't you guys stay put? We thought you had been kidnapped!" Gruffi yelled. At that moment, the teenage bear came back to his senses and quickly backed away from the edge. "What happened?" he asked weary and confused. "That's what we'd like to know!"exclaimed Zummi.

"I'm not sure," Cassandra lied in a sleepy tone. "Oh, Gusto and I are alright. I'm sorry...I guess we just both had a little sleepwalking incident." "Well, at least you're both safe,"said Grammi warmly. "Let's just get back home." As they walked back, Sunni watched the new bear with a mixture now of apprehension and confusion. Gusto still seemed unaware of what had almost happened to him. "Why doesn't he rush on to get his canvas and stuff ? He'd never forget those things. He looks so tired all of the sudden." 

Gruffi made sure Cassandra was out of earshot when he whispered to Zummi,"We need to talk when we get back about her." He motioned his head slightly towards Cassandra. "Something weird is going on and I don't trust Miss New-Bear-Out-of-the-Blue to be so innocent." 

The end of Chapter 1...

The Gummi Bears all belong expressly to Disney, etc. (not me). All rights reserved. 

Please note: I don't own these characters, etc. I just did some fan pages of them. No copyright infringement intended; all images and text are fanworks and not the original licensed works. This is just a creative bit of my own fan writings. The writer of this story, if requested to do so by the owners of said characters, etc., will gladly take down this page and all of its contents. Permission pending. I'm in the process of trying to ask them for their o.k. I am begging and hoping for no lawsuits here. (Me being the unfortunate victim of Murphy's Law...)


	2. Yet It Seems So True

Yet It Seems So True...

Gusto had quite a headache, and still felt disorientated. And he couldn't figure out why. Gruffi made one of his usual comments, blaming Grammi's cooking for Gusto's little malady. She just gave him an angry look for now instead of defending her culinary skills, for she had to worry about the young artist first. Cassandra sat at the kitchen table with everyone else, not offering to help, but just watching their antics with amusement. Tummi said nothing, for he was shy in the sudden and unexpected presence of this new bear. He hung around though, partially concerned and wondering about Gusto's condition, and partially hoping for a nice little before-bedtime snack. Grammi gave Gusto some liquid medicine, made from willow tree bark, which he gratefully swallowed despite its odd taste. Zummi observed that if her cooking was at fault, they probably all would have been complaining of headaches. "Yeah, well, Gusto doesn't always eat here, just sometimes, and maybe he hasn't built up the resistance that we all have towards her..." 

"You sure do offer a lot of resistance, Gruffi Gummi! Why don't you offer some assistance instead?! Help take him back home." 

"Hmmph! O.k." The burly bear had decided to give up, for poor Gusto's sake anyway.

Everyone soon waved good-bye to the two and told them to be careful.

"I know; I know!" Gruffi huffed.

"Bye...I gotta get some rest. Thanks, everyone!"

"Well, let's get going, then."

Gusto thought,"Why'd Grammi have to make him help me? Almost anyone else would have been better, especially now...uggh."

In the meantime, the rest finished preparing Cassandra's guest room and let her eat a small but tasty meal. The new one talked about how she had felt sorry for Gusto and apologized for any trouble she might have caused. Everyone reassured her that it was o.k. 

After helping out so much and being more polite than she felt she needed to be to the lavender lady bear, a slightly confused and troubled Sunni went to bed. She'd have to explain things to Cubbi the next morning, although she debated even doing this. He would undoubtedly be as curious and perplexed about Cassandra as she was, but the trouble with the whelp was that he would rush out and try to solve the mystery (anticipating an adventure in the process), without the mature guidance that she would try to give him. Afterall, she was only a few years away from being Tummi's and even Gusto's age, and they were treated practically as adults.

Sunni thought, "I'll need an intricate plan to discover any information about that Cassandra bear, but just try telling Cubbi that!" Cubbi could plan, but he was impetuous as well, and could easily get into serious danger (for which she or Tummi would be blamed, whoever was supposed to be watching him at the time). She didn't know what to do, and simply drifted off into sleep.

As Gruffi escorted his recovering friend home, he aggressively asked,"No, really, did you or did you not sneak a snack from the kitchen? Maybe it was one of her bad marblenut pies. You're becoming Tummi, if you have been!"

"No, no...I...it's just ever since I painted Casey..."

"Casey?!" interjected the older bear. 

"Yeah, Cassandra, you know."

"I want you to stay away from her!"

"Why? What? Oh come on, Grufferino! Do you think she had something to do with all this? It's probably just something wrong with my paint!"

"Yeah, right! Look, Gusto, you're still young and naive, and I say just be cautious around total strangers. We don't really know who she is yet, even though she is, as far as looks go, a Gummi Bear. Remember Carni? He was supposed to be one of us too!"

"Well, I think she is one of us...I'm sure of it! Maybe I was just coming down with something, but Grammi's medicine is working! Don't worry!"

"Just be careful. We worry about you, kid. Send Artie if you need more medicine."

"Thanks Gruff. I'll see ya later."

"Goodnight."

"Oh," he said stopping and turning around,"and give Casey a chance. You guys gave me one."

"Cassandra," Gruffi corrected and thought,"and you, Gusto, were considerbly less mysterious. Weird, maybe..."

"Just go to sleep Gusto." He was already on his little water-driven elevator.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you, Gruffmeister."

"But you never really listen." With that thought Gruffi left Gusto to the safety of his secluded home. Somehow, Artie could keep him in line, for tonight. Yet as Gruffi walked back he still felt worried. The starry sky above him was now obscured by dark clouds. There was no wind. Should he turn back? He grunted, dismissing his worries as silliness and continued on home.

When Gusto reached the top, he stepped off the elevator not to find Artie as he usually did, but Casey instead. "Casey what are you doing here? I thought you were back at Gummi Glen. And hey, where's Artie?" It was so dark.

The end of Chapter 2

The Gummi Bears all belong expressly to Disney, etc. (not me). All rights reserved. 

Please note: I don't own these characters, etc. I just did some fan pages of them. No copyright infringement intended; all images and text are fanworks and not the original licensed works. This is just a creative bit of my own fan writings. The writer of this story, if requested to do so by the owners of said characters, etc., will gladly take down this page and all of its contents. Permission pending. I'm in the process of trying to ask them for their o.k. I am begging and hoping for no lawsuits here. (Me being the unfortunate victim of Murphy's Law...)


	3. A Brush With

A Brush With...

"Well I just wanted to check up on you, so I hurried out here after your friends thought I went to bed. I'm concerned about you. You got sick right after you met me. Maybe it's my fault. The least I can do is to help you get better." She stepped toward him.

"Um, thanks, but Grammi already helped me. I feel alright now. Anyway, how'd you know how to get here?"

"You wondered where your little toucan pet had gone. Well, he flew out to Gummi Glen because you were so late in coming back. The rest didn't see him, but I did, and he led me here. He's by your hammock. Look, don't you see him there, sleeping?"

"Oh, okay. Well, Casey, thanks;I'm going to bed now and I guess you'd better get back before they get suspicious and really wonder about you." He wondered a little about why his noisy pet went completely undetected by all except Casey. A slight sliver of fear went through him, but it ceased quickly. He would not allow himself to fear a fellow Gummi bear.

"What do you mean?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"Gruffi, you know, the brown one, lectured me all the way home about you--like you were evil or something. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Casey. When I painted you, I knew I could trust you."

"Only because you don't remember what happened, do you put your faith in a sorceress," she muttered in her mind.

"Well, thanks for not pre-judging me. And, oh yeah, don't forget about your paints and easel and canvas and stuff. It's all out there still. You'll have to get it tomorrow, I guess."

"Thanks for reminding me."

She stepped past him and onto the elevator and as she did so, she slipped a new paintbrush from her pouch into his hand. He turned around and looked in awe at the brush. In his shadow, the handle was glowing gold and silver in some parts and rainbow-colored in other spots. And as one looked into the handle, its three-dimensional depth seemed almost infinite. No metal clasp held the brush hairs, instead each hair almost seemed to emanate or grow from the end of the handle itself, as hairs would grow from a tail. The paintbrush was seemingly organic and was warm in his hands. It was unlike any other brush he had ever had before.

"I'm an artist, too," she whispered.

"What's this?"

"Something to remember me by. And something which will grant you your fondest wish..."

"To be a great artist...," Gusto said.

"Yes, as soon as I remember where I'm from, I'll leave, and you won't see me anymore. Just use the brush for all your future paintings and your wish will come true, and you'll remember me, as your most beautiful memory."

She stepped onto the elevator.

"Sweet dreams, Augustus."

"Wait...I should give you something..." Although he had no idea what to give her to repay her kindness. But she was already gone. Had she even used the elevator? It was still in front of him. Was he already asleep, with the medicine wearing off and dreaming a feverish dream?

Cassandra had seemed to have simply vanished.

"Sweet dreams, and thank-you,...my inspiration..."Gusto said and laid down gently to sleep, accidently dropping the brush, and not even noticing that the real Artie had had his wings clipped and beak tied shut and was expertly trapped in a magical cage without a lock or key or door. In a few days, Artie could be dead without access to food or water. The bird struggled, but to no avail. He had to warn Gusto (and the others) of what had really happened!

The end of Chapter 3

The Gummi Bears all belong expressly to Disney, etc. (not me). All rights reserved. 

Please note: I don't own these characters, etc. I just did some fan pages of them. No copyright infringement intended; all images and text are fanworks and not the original licensed works. This is just a creative bit of my own fan writings. The writer of this story, if requested to do so by the owners of said characters, etc., will gladly take down this page and all of its contents. Permission pending. I'm in the process of trying to ask them for their o.k. I am begging and hoping for no lawsuits here. (Me being the unfortunate victim of Murphy's Law...)


	4. Ambitions

Note: Your prayers (If you've been praying.) have been answered! Poor souls, waiting so long; I am so irresponsible. Still, I hope you can forgive me and enjoy this ridiculously mushy, although too short, continuation of Gusto's new experiences. Don't worry, it's still PG; I'm not, I repeat, not, going to write anything degrading--that's for sure. Not that anybody's asking me to do so, but I'm just trying to make a point that is so often not made, but should. I have this big policy for myself regarding that.

At any rate, there's just a mushy warning in here, but it fits in because Casey is what she is. (Insert "Twilight Zone©" music here.) I've got some more stuff in store for you but as usual it's being crafted and polished like a fine medieval sword. (It's the same thing with my home page. -_- It will have added to it some exclusive fan art and such up of the Gummi Bears and other characters I like, as well as my regular art and writings. I probably won't be able to accept fan work submissions, though, because of limited space and time and because of my own procrastination. Sorry.)

Regarding whether Gusto's a twenty-something or a teen (Red Turtle's query): I guess it all depends on when he arrived on the island; we know according to the show that he was on the island for twelve yr.'s. If he started island living when he was eight, he'd be twenty when Gruffi and Tummi found him. If he was any younger than eight, then he'd be a teen when the island went down. Could an eight yr. old take care of himself, being practically alone on an island without any help? I don't know, but probably not too well, for a human child, not even for a very resourceful, intelligent, and mature eight yr. old (Too many dangers, risks, etc. from disease, wild animals, etc.). It's truly possible that a young person could survive (as in The Island of the Blue Dolphins), but they would be pretty lonely and many times uncomfortable (Children of course need their parents, their family.). Well, Gusto did have Artie for a pet, so that must have helped. Another thing to wonder about is if the bears age in the same way as humans do. Maybe at eight, Gusto would've been more like twelve or thirteen in human years. Well, anyway, I don't know. I just guessed that (in bear years at least) he'd be maybe seventeen to nineteen years old (ready for an art university, if the Gummi Bears had one :P). It's a cool question and I thank you all (Alaer Kino, Cmarr, Jadegriffin, Rainbowdryad, and Red Turtle) for your input and for sticking with this story. 

Anyway, though, I'm into Looney Tunes© of Warner Bros. right now, specifically Marvin the Martian©, the cute little guy. "Baby Looney Tunes©" started this new fascination. Actually, I wish Disney would make a new Gummi Bears series continuing from where the story left off in the last episodes. (Hmm, I'm one to talk, aren't I? Hardly ever finishing my own stories, whether fanfictional, fictional, or non-fictional (essays). But being annoyingly human, I still hypocritically wish this.) And I'd hope they wouldn't ruin it all by making it all weird and out of the genres of the original show (such as "Spiderman:Unlimited", "Dragonball GT", and "My Little Pony Tales", all © of their respective owners, did--even "Chrono Cross" didn't quite measure up to the fame of "Chrono Trigger" (hence all the arguments that "Radical Dreamers" (or something) was the real sequel video game) all © of their respective owners, too). Like I have written, I like (and also highly dislike) a lot of things.

Well, thanks for waiting and for reading. I know this is a long note, but it has been a long time. (And thanks for not flaming me, even though I've been so late with this all. You guys are incredibly patient--thanks!) My only complaint is about Fanfiction.net's policy of not allowing more than one review per person per chapter. Blah. Oh well.

On to the story...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^_^

Ambitions

An enticing dream engulfed the young bear as he slept. His breathing and heart rate slowed almost to hibernation levels to accommodate his relaxed state. He saw Casey's green and violet eyes search his very soul as she studied his brown eyes. He felt a little strange and unsettled, but also welcomed her interest. She was painting his visage on a black canvas as wide as the sky, filled with stars as the backdrop. She was using that same paintbrush, which she had given him just moments before, to effortlessly render him to perfection. "How do you like that?! See, Gruffi? She loves me..." he muttered in his sleep. 

The finishing touch showed him holding that same magical brush aloft in a gesture of extreme power and glory. "Gusto," Cassandra whispered strongly and sweetly to his soul, "this is you; this is who you really are--a conqueror of worlds and lives through your art. You are beauty and magnificence enshrined in flesh, fur, blood and bone, and spirit."

Now he could see Casey nowhere. He could see nothing else but the painting and he could hear nothing else except her voice, and his thoughts and speech. As Gusto reached out with one hand to touch the already dried portrait, admiring the artwork intensely, he saw that it seemed to mirror him. Every movement he made was matched perfectly by his painted clone. When his hand reached the dark surface of the canvas, he felt easily drawn through it, into darkness. It was a pleasant sensation, as though he were drifting off into a deep sleep once again. There was nothing but blackness, as he called her name.

"Gusto."

He turned a bit and felt her nearby. She seemed to be glowing from every part of her being, and he could see her. Then she lightly kissed him on his cheek, blushing purple through his sky blue fur.

"You're right, you know," she said softly to him.

"Right about what?"

"Didn't that kiss just show you I love you?" She giggled and ran off into the blackness.

Gusto just stood there in awe and rapture. "Gruffi was so wrong about you; I've got to be with you forever...or I'll die."

"Such a handsome profile," she remarked...

Part of Chapter 4...to be continued. Can Casey be trusted? Would you side with Gruffi and Sunni or with Gusto on this question? Did Gusto really fall in love or is he just infatuated? Does Casey love him, or does she have an ulterior motive? Was Gusto really dreaming or did he just wake up in an alternate dimension?

The Gummi Bears all belong expressly to Disney, etc. (not me). All rights reserved. 

Please note: I don't own these characters, etc. I just did some fan pages of them. No copyright infringement intended; all images and text are fanworks and not the original licensed works. This is just a creative bit of my own fan writings. The writer of this story, if requested to do so by the owners of said characters, etc., will gladly take down this page and all of its contents. Permission pending. I'm in the process of trying to ask them for their o.k. I am begging and hoping for no lawsuits here. (Me being the unfortunate victim of Murphy's Law...)


End file.
